Don't Be A Twerp When You Tweet

The Wall Steet Journal has a feature on "Five of the Costliest Tweets Ever." (Subscription required, but I'll tell you all you need to know below.) This morning, Jon Hyman of Ohio Employer's Law Blog tweeted a link to a great flow chart from HR Bartender entitled "Should I Send This Email." Both are worth reading.

Number 1 of the "Five Costliest Tweets" was, of course, our old friend, former Congressman Anthony Weiner. If you don't know enough to refrain from tweeting what Wiener tweeted, then you probably don't read this blog, and it wouldn't do you any good if you did.

But Rep. Weiner aside, some of these tweets were not so clearly idiotic, and so they provide good lessons for employers and everyone else.

Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP www.constangy.com Don't Be A Twerp When You Tweet By Robin E. Shea on March 09, 2012 The Wall Steet Journal has a feature on "Five of the Costliest Tweets Ever." (Subscription required, but I'll tell you all you need to know below.) This morning, Jon Hyman of Ohio Employer's Law Blog tweeted a link to a great flow chart from HR Bartender entitled "Should I Send This Email." Both are worth reading. Number 1 of the "Five Costliest Tweets" was, of course, our old friend, former Congressman Anthony Weiner. If you don't know enough to refrain from tweeting what Wiener tweeted, then you probably don't read this blog, and it wouldn't do you any good if you did. But Rep. Weiner aside, some of these tweets were not so clearly idiotic, and so they provide good lessons for employers and everyone else. Case No. 2 -A juror in a murder trial tweeted, despite the judge's instructions not to talk about the case. Now the convicted defendant gets a new trial at an estimated taxpayer cost of $600,000. Pretty dumb of this juror not to listen to the judge, but the tweet that was quoted struck me as innocuous (if a bit selfimportant): "Choices to be made. Hearts to be broken. We define the great line." Criminal defense lawyers said the judge was right to order a new trial. MORAL: A running narrative of your life on social media* is not only boring to everyone but you, but it will make your fellow jurors, who lost a week of work and agonized over a life-and-death decision for nothing, really mad at you. *Facebook users, you know what I'm talking about: "Doing laundry. Then gas and a cheeseburger at McDonald's. Weather today is partly cloudy." With photos of before-and-after laundry, gas pump, cheeseburger sitting on top of crinkled yellow wrapper, and a gray cloud. Case No. 3 (employment related) -Mickey Arison, owner of the Miami Heat, was fined $500,000 by the National Basketball Association for tweeting about contract negotiations with the players, in violation of NBA rules. The WSJ didn't provide details, but according to Bossip, Arison responded to a tweet from a disgruntled fan who criticized "greedy owners." Arison said, "You're barking up the wrong tree," which allegedly undermined the owners' claim to have a united front against the players. In another tweet, Arison was asked what he thought of Donald Sterling, owner of the LA Clippers, and Arison responded "lol." Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP www.constangy.com MORAL: When you're tweeting, don't be a maverick. Tehe -get it? Case No. 4 -Spirit Airlines was fined $50,000 for tweeting about $9 one-way air fares from Los Angeles because the tweets didn't include the fine print about taxes and fees charged in addition to the air fares. C'mon, DOT, cut 'em a break -what are they supposed to do with only 140 characters? MORAL: Never tweet about air fares. You will never be able to fit all those required disclaimers in a tweet. Case No. 5 (employment related) -Octavia Nasr, a senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs at CNN, was fired after 20 years for tweeting that she was sorry a man had died and that she respected him "a lot." (What?) Well, it's like this. You see, it turned out that the deceased was an ayatollah who criticized U.S. foreign policy and, according to the Wall Street Journal, had expressed support for suicide bombings in Israel. (Oh.) Ms. Nasr apologized and explained that she respected him because he was relatively progressive about women's rights . . . (as ayatollahs go?). Her explanation didn't save her job. One of her bosses was quoted as saying that Ms. Nasr should not have made such a "simplistic" comment without "context." But, in Ms. Nasr's defense, how do you do "context" and "nuance" in 140 characters? Answer: You can't. So if you have something "nuanced" to say, use another forum. MORAL: If you can't tweet ill of the dead, then don't tweet anything at all. FREE BONUS POST! Here are my top five email mistakes: 1. Overuse of "Reply All." Not everybody needs to know everything, duh. 2. Hostility or argument expressed via email. I don't think every substantive communication needs to be face to face, but if you have a problem or are in an argument with someone (or even think it may move in that direction), you should call or discuss it face to face. If the "real-time" discussion doesn't resolve the problem, then you might need to confirm that in an email, but keep the email courteous and constructive. 3. Snarky comments in emails that are not attorney-client privileged. Lawyers can get away with some snark (at least, when they're talking with or about client matters) because of the attorney-client privilege. But HR people and managers, and other non-lawyers, emailing among themselves, cannot. In more than one lawsuit we have had to turn over to our adversaries emails with snippy comments that the authors deeply regret having made in hindsight. When you're annoyed with an employee, use your mouth to get it off your chest --don't put it in an email. I have yet to hear of someone being sorry that they didn't express a nasty thought in an email. 4. Snarky comments about other people in emails, period. Before you send an email, think about how you will feel if the person you are talking about gets hold of it somehow. Especially after you've made up. Or he gets a promotion and becomes your boss. This can and does happen. Is it worth it to Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP www.constangy.com ruin your relationship with a co-worker so that you can vent a little in a "perpetual" format? Again, if you're frustrated, go run around the block, or vent some other way. 5. Jokes (sexual, racial, ethnic, or otherwise), videos, chain emails, etc. Need I say more? *CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL: At one time or another, I have violated every one of these five email rules. With the exception of sending chain emails, which are of the devil Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP has counseled employers on labor and employment law matters, exclusively, since 1946. A "Go To" Law Firm in Corporate Counsel and Fortune Magazine, it represents Fortune 500 corporations and small companies across the country. Its attorneys are consistently rated as top lawyers in their practice areas by sources such as Chambers USA, Martindale-Hubbell, and Top One Hundred Labor Attorneys in the United States, and the firm is top-ranked by the U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers Best Law Firms survey. More than 130 lawyers partner with clients to provide cost-effective legal services and sound preventive advice to enhance the employer-employee relationship. Offices are located in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.constangy.com.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.

- hide

Privacy Policy (Updated: October 8, 2015):

JD Supra provides users with access to its legal industry publishing services (the "Service") through its website (the "Website") as well as through other sources. Our policies with regard to data collection and use of personal information of users of the Service, regardless of the manner in which users access the Service, and visitors to the Website are set forth in this statement ("Policy"). By using the Service, you signify your acceptance of this Policy.

The information and data collected is used to authenticate users and to send notifications relating to the Service, including email alerts to which users have subscribed; to manage the Service and Website, to improve the Service and to customize the user's experience. This information is also provided to the authors of the content to give them insight into their readership and help them to improve their content, so that it is most useful for our users.

JD Supra does not sell, rent or otherwise provide your details to third parties, other than to the authors of the content on JD Supra.

If you prefer not to enable cookies, you may change your browser settings to disable cookies; however, please note that rejecting cookies while visiting the Website may result in certain parts of the Website not operating correctly or as efficiently as if cookies were allowed.

Email Choice/Opt-out

Users who opt in to receive emails may choose to no longer receive e-mail updates and newsletters by selecting the "opt-out of future email" option in the email they receive from JD Supra or in their JD Supra account management screen.

Security

JD Supra takes reasonable precautions to insure that user information is kept private. We restrict access to user information to those individuals who reasonably need access to perform their job functions, such as our third party email service, customer service personnel and technical staff. However, please note that no method of transmitting or storing data is completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of user information. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors may compromise the security of user information at any time.

If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, you must immediately notify us of the problem by contacting us at info@jdsupra.com. In the unlikely event that we believe that the security of your user information in our possession or control may have been compromised, we may seek to notify you of that development and, if so, will endeavor to do so as promptly as practicable under the circumstances.

Sharing and Disclosure of Information JD Supra Collects

Except as otherwise described in this privacy statement, JD Supra will not disclose personal information to any third party unless we believe that disclosure is necessary to: (1) comply with applicable laws; (2) respond to governmental inquiries or requests; (3) comply with valid legal process; (4) protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of JD Supra, users of the Service, Website visitors or the public; (5) permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain; and (6) enforce our Terms & Conditions of Use.

In the event there is a change in the corporate structure of JD Supra such as, but not limited to, merger, consolidation, sale, liquidation or transfer of substantial assets, JD Supra may, in its sole discretion, transfer, sell or assign information collected on and through the Service to one or more affiliated or unaffiliated third parties.

Links to Other Websites

This Website and the Service may contain links to other websites. The operator of such other websites may collect information about you, including through cookies or other technologies. If you are using the Service through the Website and link to another site, you will leave the Website and this Policy will not apply to your use of and activity on those other sites. We encourage you to read the legal notices posted on those sites, including their privacy policies. We shall have no responsibility or liability for your visitation to, and the data collection and use practices of, such other sites. This Policy applies solely to the information collected in connection with your use of this Website and does not apply to any practices conducted offline or in connection with any other websites.

Changes in Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time. Please refer to the date at the top of this page to determine when this Policy was last revised. Any changes to our privacy policy will become effective upon posting of the revised policy on the Website. By continuing to use the Service or Website following such changes, you will be deemed to have agreed to such changes. If you do not agree with the terms of this Policy, as it may be amended from time to time, in whole or part, please do not continue using the Service or the Website.

Contacting JD Supra

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, your dealings with this Web site, or if you would like to change any of the information you have provided to us, please contact us at: info@jdsupra.com.

*With LinkedIn, you don't need to create a separate login to manage your free JD Supra account, and we can make suggestions based on your needs and interests. We will not post anything on LinkedIn in your name. Or, sign up using your email address.